As a part of its formidable industry immersion culture, Jaipuria Institute of Management, Indore invited one of Indore’s most prominent businessmen of the Automobile sector. Mr. Ashutosh Mishra, President of Sanghi Motors, visited Jaipuria Indore on the 2nd of February 2013, for an interaction with the students. Mr. Mishra is one of the most respected names in the automobile consumer dealership space, having held prominent positions with companies like Hyundai, Maruti and, as of now, with Tata Motors. In his interaction with the students of Jaipuria Indore, Mr. Mishra provided a detailed overview of the automobile industry in India.

“Automobiles set our pulse racing; they attract a lot of young minds. The history of the Indian automobile industry dates back to 1897 and today, India is the ninth largest automobile industry in the world. And guess what? The low levels of vehicle penetration in India still provide immense opportunities in our automobile industry, making it one of the top three lucrative markets in the world for automobile giants. Companies like Nissan and General Motors have created blueprints for the export of 5 Lakh cars that will be manufactured in India, with an expected investment of over 30,000 crores.”

During the hour-long interaction, Mr. Mishra classified the automobile industry into various segments, and shared some important features about the marketing of automobiles, including pricing as the major contributor to branding and sales.

“Innovation might be new to most sectors, but not automobiles. Ever since it began, automobile companies have either grown big or perished, depending on their innovation quotient. The health of the commercial vehicle sector is an indicator of the health of the economy of a country. Apart from the Asian economies, sales in the automobile industry across the globe have stagnated. The major threat in the automobile industry is the global crisis, and that is why Asia is quickly turning into a battle-ground for automobile giants.”

Mr. Ashutosh Mishra dwelt in great detail on the growth drivers of the automobile industry, such as the development of navigable infrastructure (roads and highways), the critical factor of growth in the middle-class segment of an economy, increased investments by global players, and vehicle and components export.

“Can you believe where the next big thrust of car manufacturers in India is? Maruti Udyog is going ahead full throttle with a 6500 crore investment in the second-hand car segment, Hyundai is pumping in more than 3800 crores and Tata motors is investing 2000 crores in the small car segment. While passenger car markets will always have growth potential, the commercial vehicle segment has also shown great recovery, especially in India, after withstanding the effects of the global financial crisis.”

He advised the management students of Jaipuria Indore to continuously gauge the technological environment of the automobile industry.

“Opportunities for the automobile industry lie in tapping into the ever growing consumer demands and, undoubtedly, alternate fuel sources.Trends like fuel efficient cars, NVH isolation, lower CO2 emissions and the growth of a niche market in tier-2 cities hold a lot of promise in the future. The weakness in the industry is not about the buying power, but revolves majorly around the lack of proper infrastructure and not much improvement in the after-sales services.”

Mr. Ashutosh Mishra’s interaction was rich in cases and examples. In fact, he even concluded his session with a small caselet on the Tata Nano, leading to an energetic discussion among students on how it could be converted into a success.